Bethel Baptist Church including NW Schoolroom and area railings

Cadw's description

Location

Situated on corner of Upper Meyrick and Bush Streets.

History

1873-5 Baptist Chapel designed by Hans Price of Weston-super-Mare.

Exterior

Rock-faced grey limestone with Bath stone dressings, some painted. Slate roof with gabled ogee-domed ventilator. Eclectic round-arched style with gable front in the form of advanced centrepiece flanked by single-storey lobbies in angle to flank walls. Four-window sides with long arched windows, the gallery level marked by ashlar panels, and two-storey schoolroom at W end. Main front has ashlar open pediment with console brackets on raised outer piers, and cornice across centre broken by two arched window heads. Dated '1845'. Ashlar lozenge in gable and neo-Grec finial. Set-back flank walls have slightly lower ashlar cornice and parapet with consoles at outer angles. Two centre windows have thin metal 'Florentine' tracery, ashlar surrounds, flush band across to the outer piers and sill course. Outer lobbies have plinth, triplet of narrow arched lights, and cornice with zig-zag decoration to parapets. Similar cornice and blocking course, without zig-zag decoration, to outer piers of centre which has big Romanesque moulded arched doorway inscribed 'Baptist + Bethel + Chapel', flush band each side and plinth. Two small roundels in spandrels. Big double doors with half-wheel fanlight.

Elaborate contemporary iron railings with spearheads and intricate lower tracery, on low coped wall. Two stone entrance piers.

Inegrated NW school room has hipped porch in angle to projecting gable with ashlar coping on scrolled shoulders. Big first-floor camber-headed window with two lights divided by iron column, ground floor three-light, flat-headed with two iron columns.

Interior

Elaborate unaltered interior of nave and aisles form, with thin iron columns carrying galleries and then timber arched brackets to ceiling. 3-sided gallery with notched and panelled front. High pulpit with iron-raised steps each side, organ loft behind with painted Gothic organ case. Stencil decoration to ceiling and gallery panels.